I laughed but it was cut short by Hendrix capturing one of my nipples in his mouth. I cried out his name as his teeth tugged at it.
“You taste like honeysuckle.”
I arched my back and offered him more of my breasts. He opened his mouth and took as much of it in as he could and then gently sucked before biting down and letting my body slip out, past his teeth. The slight sting had me digging my nails into his shoulders and begging him for more.
With the patience of a god, he kissed the valley between my breasts and then the sensitive skin above my ribcage. His beard tickled and I sunk my fingers into his hair, tugging.
He trailed kisses all over my body. Grazing down my stomach, he treated each of my legs to his own version of worship. When he’d driven me to writhing around and begging, he lightly blew his breath across my core and then dipped his tongue in to rake it across the sensitive nub hidden there.
I was already so close that my body immediately clutched tight in an orgasm that surprised both of us. I clamped my thighs around his head and raised my hips off the floor as waves of pleasure crashed through me.
Before I’d really gotten a chance to come down from it, Hendrix pried my thighs apart and delved deeper into me. His lips and tongue ravaged me. I was coming apart before I knew it. I’d never been so responsive to another man and I was equally shocked and thrilled by it.
When he still showed no signs of slowing down, I tugged him up by his hair and kissed him. Even the taste of myself on his lips turned me on. I just wanted the man.
I reached down and grabbed him, hefted his girth as I lined him up with my body. “Condom. Quick.”
He grabbed at his wallet that was sitting on the table beside us, and pulled one out. He handed it to me and the look on his face was pure heat. “Put it on me, Darby.”
I did as he said and then he was sliding home. He filled me until I was just before the point of being too stretched. I clung to him, my arms and legs locked around his body. I said his name over and over again, feeling too much, too soon.
When he started moving, I felt like he was writing his name across my body. I felt marked, claimed. The man was an intense lover. His eyes moved over my face, followed by his lips as he held me and drove his hips into mine. Soft and slow became hard and fast and then went to hard and slow. His body worked mine until I was a woman possessed.
Panting, begging him to take me harder, faster, moaning like I had no scruples about the neighbors hearing me, I came apart under him. Shattered into a million pieces as Hendrix brought me to another orgasm.
Hendrix swore above me and then buried his face in the crook of my neck as he came with me. His fingers dug into my hips and left fingerprint-shaped bruises as he growled into my skin.
I stayed that way, wrapped around him, until my limbs went limp. I moaned as the motion shifted his body inside of mine and an aftershock of my orgasm rippled through me.
“Don’t want to smother you.” Hendrix sounded as wrecked as I felt. He tried to roll to the side, but I stopped him.
“Stay.”
He pulled out of me with a grunt and then made quick work of disposing of the condom before pulling me onto his chest and under the covers on the couch again. “Better this way.”
My head felt heavy and it was all I could do to turn my head to the side so I didn’t smother in his chest.
His big arms wrapped around me and locked me in place. “You’re safe here with me, Darby.”
Warmth spread through my body and I gave a weak smile into his chest. “You’re safe, too.”
*
Hendrix turned out to have a huge appetite. He woke me up a few different times during the night by pushing into my ready body. Each time was just as good as the first time, surprising me to my core. In the wee hours of the morning, I’d fought sleep long enough to listen to Hendrix lightly snore and think about what I was doing.
I’d convinced myself that it wouldn’t be as great after the initial lust ran out. Time after time, he proved me wrong, though. Everything about him drove me crazy. I’d never been dizzy with lust before, but Hendrix was proving that anything was possible.
Getting ready for work that morning proved to be a challenge. After a shower together, another romp on my bare bed, and a failed attempt to get dressed, we were finally headed to the studio an hour late. I’d never made a habit of being late to work in the mornings, so my nerves bubbled to the surface on the drive.
“You should’ve kept it in your pants that last time.”
Hendrix just smiled a cocky smile and tugged at a piece of my hair that’d fallen out of its bun. “You shouldn’t have pulled it out. Don’t blame me. You’re insatiable.”
I couldn’t help the happy laugh that happened. Even through my anxiety, the sturdy feeling of elation was there. I’d never been so sexually compatible with anyone and that carried over into our other routines. I just felt comfortable around him. Sure, his bossiness would probably still make me want to punch him, but I was excited for the first time it happened. We had a fun outlet for our frustrations now.
“Stop thinking about sex, Darby, or I’ll turn this car around. I can protect you much better at home, anyway.”
I snorted. “You’ll turn this car around? What are you, my dad?”
He swerved around a too slow car and growled. “No, but you probably do need a spanking.”
Heat flooded my body and I bit my lip. I couldn’t help but like the idea of it with him. The heat instantly froze when he narrowly avoided the tail-end of a BMW. The man was an insane driver. “Hendrix. You’re going to kill us.”
“We’re perfectly safe.” He glanced over at me and then rolled his eyes when I shrieked at him to keep his eyes on the road. “I wouldn’t put you in danger.”
As nice of a sentiment as it was, I was still more than relieved when we got to the studio. I could tell there were more security precautions in place as Hendrix led me inside. One of the guards tried to make me stop so he could frisk me, but after Hendrix growled at him, he let me go.
Samford was on set with his script and his famous red pen, yelling at the crew when we came in. Laster saw me and came over right away.
“Hey. So, I guess we’re bonded now. Both of us almost died the same way, huh?”
I watched his face move in a weird way before realizing he was making his Aaron Gadberry expressions. My horror must have registered on my face because suddenly he gripped both of my arms and looked apologetic.
“I’m so sorry, Darby. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m doing more method acting these days. I found that if I do the expressions in everyday life, it makes it easier on set.”
I stepped out of his embrace and bumped into the warmth of Hendrix’s chest. “You’re fine, Laster. It just caught me off guard.”
He frowned and looked down at his shoes. The confident man who’d started production with me was gone, replaced by someone shy and uneasy. He glanced up at Hendrix and then at me. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
I looked back at Hendrix and saw the annoyance written plainly on his face. I wanted to say no to Laster and stick to Hendrix, but my reality crashed down on me in those moments. As soon as everything was sorted, Hendrix would leave and I’d still be stuck there, watching Laster make his creepy faces. I had to keep things cordial with him, though. We’d still be working together for a while.
“Um, sure.”
Hendrix grunted and took a step back. “Where I can see you.”
I couldn’t help myself. “Sure, Dad.”
He moved like he was going to grab me and I let out an embarrassing squeal and jumped away from him. He just laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Go on.”
I bit my lips to keep myself from smiling too much, especially seeing the frown marring Laster’s face. I followed him to the other side of the studio, still in shouting distance of Hendrix. “What did you need to talk about, Laster?”
He reached out and brushed a piece of hair out of my face. “Do you like him?”
I resisted the urge to smack his hand away and leaned away from him. “Who? Hendrix?”
He let his hand fall and frowned more. “Yes, Hendrix. He won’t take his eyes off you.”
I glanced over and, sure enough, Hendrix was leaning against a wall, deceptively casual, with his eyes glaring at us. I didn’t point out that, most likely, Hendrix had his eyes on Laster in that moment. “He’s my bodyguard, Laster. He’s doing his job. Is that all you wanted to talk about?”
“No. I actually wanted to know if maybe we could get together and talk sometime. We both went through that scare with the light and, apparently, we’re both being targeted by Aaron Gadberry. It might be nice to have someone in your corner who knows just what you’re going through, Darby.”
“You don’t really think that Aaron is the one doing that shit, do you?” I jumped on that instead of having to deal with actually acknowledging his proposal. “He’s a coward, Laster. He’d never come here.”
“Either way. Let’s hang out. Maybe we’ll be safer together, too.”
I glanced over at Hendrix and then forced a smile on my face when I looked back at Laster. “Um, you know what? Maybe we could get together and start some kind of group thing? I’m sure a bunch of the crew and other cast members are worried, too.”
His face seemed to ripple with frustration but then, it was gone. He smiled and nodded. “I’ll ask around to see if anyone is interested. Thanks, Darby.”
I watched him walk away and then hurried back over to where Hendrix had been sucked into a conversation with a big, burly guy. They quieted when I arrived. “I’m going to run to the bathroom, Hendrix.”
He nodded to another big guy a few feet away. “I have to go check on something. Max is studio security. He’ll walk with you.”
I scowled at Hendrix. “But do I get to wipe myself?”
He leaned in and nipped my ear before whispering to me. “That spanking is looking more and more likely.”
My face was probably bright red as I slapped his arm and then headed off to the bathroom I liked. It was kind of off the beaten path, but I preferred it to the one that the cast used. After the first two weeks of a couple of the actresses on set asking me if I was going to do anything with my face, I’d decided that privacy was important to me.
Max followed me and then leaned against the wall outside of the bathroom door. “I’ll be right out here if you need anything, Miss Connors.”
I smiled and thanked him before heading in. The truth was, I just needed a break for a bit. I was so creeped out by Laster and his faces that I couldn’t seem to kick the chill that had seeped into my bones.
I went into one of the stalls and locked the door before closing the toilet lid and sitting on it. Everything was falling apart around me and I was just home, getting my jollies off with Hendrix, instead of doing my job. I wouldn’t change what we’d done but I knew I needed to focus. I had to end things with Ricky and then figure out who the hell was threatening me and the movie.
I knew it wasn’t Aaron Gadberry. There was just no way. Of course, I’d feel even better with that feeling if Hendrix’s guy got back to us with where Aaron was.
A loud thump came from outside the bathroom and then the door opened with a squeak that I hadn’t noticed when I came in.
“Hello?” My voice shook and I hated it. I shouldn’t be afraid in the bathroom. That was insane.
I stood up and grabbed the lock to open the door when I caught a glimpse of movement through the spacing in the door. What I saw had me jerking my hand away from the lock and backing away with a whimper.
The masked man stood at the sink, his back to the stall I was in, but his eyes on me through the mirror. “Hello, again, little rabbit.”